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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

I admit that I’m obsessed
with strawberries. Even though we subscribe to a CSA that provides 3
baskets every week, I’m often at the Farmers Markets buying more. In
mid-strawberry season, the (refrigerator) shelf life of strawberries seems
shorter than that of early-season berries, despite storing
them for longevity. Sometimes they have surface blemishes and oddities. For
this we have recipes.

Monday, July 30, 2012

I love finding recipes for things I’ve never thought of
before, don’t you? Especially when the recipe is simple enough to tweak to my
own tastes without fear of failure. Balsamic roasted strawberries are like
that. The only way you can ruin them is to burn them. And I did burn some of
the juices on the first batch, but they still tasted good, sans the black
parts.

Lesson learned: with shorter baking time you can separate strawberries
and liquid, baked longer strawberries and liquid caramelize together. You
can choose to make them so there’s liquid to brush on top of a strawberry muffin
with roasted strawberries inside. Or you might use the liquid and berries to
top a cake. Or you might want to make slightly caramelized berries as a yummy
quick jam. It’s your choice.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

As my doctor philosophized last week, we often have either
too much of a good thing or not enough. This certainly seems true with radishes
in a CSA share. Typically we receive a number of different radish varieties for
several weeks, and then nothing. Although refrigerated radishes are hardy, they
do deteriorate consistently as time goes by. An easy way to preserve them is to
make simple refrigerator pickles.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Strawberry season. Here on the central CA coast, we are
blessed with a long one, often beginning in late April and sometimes extending
into November. In fact, it was the prospect of a season-long supply of Live Earth Farm strawberries that
inspired me to sign up for their weekly CSA produce boxes.

By this time of the season, eating fresh strawberries is no
longer a novelty, yet they’re still at their peak of flavor and freshness.
We’ve eaten them plain, dipped
them, drunk
them, shortcaked
them, frozen
them, and even saladed
or balsamic-minted
them. What’s next? That’s right, strawberry jam!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

When I posted a recipe for Cherries
in Light Honey Sauce recently, my friend Lynn, a prolific
inventor of party drinks, mentioned that these could be used in a new drink
she’s concocted. When we chatted more about her ingredient list, it turned out
to be ideal to “brandy” the cherries. Always on the alert for new recipes, I
thought, why not brandy some fresh cherries instead of adding brandy to the preserved honeyed
ones?

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Summertime colds seem so counterintuitive and unfair.
Staying in bed shivering under blankets while everyone else is outdoors playing
in the sun, swimming with the kids, or sipping cocktails at a barbecue just
doesn’t seem right. So the other day when I felt a bit under the weather, I
chose to nip the virus in the bud. In addition to getting extra rest and
drinking ginger
tea and lemon
tea, I made chicken soup.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Recipe by
Mom

In most
parts of the US, it’s rare to have a summer party without potato salad. Finding
two or three varieties at a potluck isn’t unusual. Everyone seems to have a
favorite recipe, and mine comes from my mom. She started training me in potato
salad prep at age 10, not a bad tradition.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post for a special
announcement: Spinach is delicious in pancakes! I didn’t plan to make these, or
even know about them. If I were a more disciplined cook and hadn’t gone to Ikea
I might have never known. But let me back up a bit.

I’ve been curious about lingonberries for decades,
because of my interest
in Scandinavian cooking and cultures. So I was excited to find lingonberry
preserves at Ikea last weekend. Being somewhat compulsive, I derailed my plans
to make Mom’s potato salad and started researching uses for lingonberries. A
quick look through The Cooking of Scandinavia recipe booklet revealed that Finnish people make traditional
spinach pancakes and often serve
them with lingonberries. Perfect recipe for the half pound of summer spinach in
the fridge!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

I’ve always loved pancakes, especially the apple pancakes
that my mom used to make. When I was a kid I adored going to small pancake
houses that made syrups from strawberries and other fruits. These days
such syrups taste artificial, probably because local pancake houses are hard to find and the corporate chain pancake houses that have replaced them don't make syrup with real
fruit.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Once while in a summer program at the Yale
Forestry Camp in Great Mountain Forest, a friend and I spontaneously
decided to make blueberry pancakes. Rather than planning this at camp, we made
this decision on a “free morning” hike when we saw lots of scrubby blueberry
plants on a sunny slope. We had no idea how many berries to gather. Because the
wild berries were so small, we thought we’d probably need a lot.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

'Tis Now the Youth of Your Summer

In living and eating by the seasons we appreciate the wealth
and gifts of every month, but there’s no denying that July is extra-abundant in
the northern hemisphere. Long days with plenty of sunlight inspire us to be
outside more, and warm temperatures encourage relaxation and enjoyment of
outdoor meals with friends and family. The bounty of fruits and vegetables in
our gardens and on local farms make it easy to eat local foods, create new
recipes, and share food with others.